USDA Arid Land Agricultural Research Center, Maricopa, AZ 85238, USA.
J Insect Physiol. 2010 Jan;56(1):28-34. doi: 10.1016/j.jinsphys.2009.08.021.
Understanding the basic life history and underlying regulatory mechanisms for a pest insect is essential for developing targeted control strategies, but for many insects relatively little is known. Although the western tarnished plant bug, Lygus hesperus Knight (Heteroptera: Miridae) has a substantial negative impact in the western U.S., its basic biology is poorly characterized. To elucidate the regulation of L. hesperus reproductive dynamics, the onset times of gonadal activation and mating behavior were examined in young adults. Newly emerged adults reared under laboratory conditions at 25 degrees C were monitored daily for changes in gamete production and willingness to mate. Males matured more quickly than females. Sperm was present at emergence and a small proportion of males were willing to mate as early as 2 days post-emergence. Females were unwilling to mate until at least 5 days post-emergence, although many produced choriogenic oocytes by 4 days. Males appeared to discriminate female age and were more likely to attempt mating with females >5 days post-emergence than with younger females. Males were also able to detect previous mating and attempted to mount virgins more often than recently inseminated females. Collectively these results indicate that the changes in the mating behaviors of L. hesperus are linked to reproductive status, although there is a lag between gamete production and willingness to mate. The results also suggest that interactions of the sexes are chemically mediated.
了解害虫的基本生活史和潜在的调控机制对于制定有针对性的控制策略至关重要，但对于许多昆虫来说，相对知之甚少。尽管西部玷污叶蝉（Lygus hesperus Knight）（半翅目：Miridae）在美国西部造成了巨大的负面影响，但它的基本生物学特征尚未得到充分描述。为了阐明 L. hesperus 生殖动态的调控机制，研究了年轻成虫的性腺激活和交配行为的起始时间。在 25°C 的实验室条件下饲养的新羽化成虫每天监测其配子产生和交配意愿的变化。雄性比雌性成熟得更快。精子在羽化时就已经存在，一小部分雄性早在羽化后 2 天就愿意交配。雌性直到至少 5 天才能交配，尽管许多雌性在 4 天内就产生了产卵管卵母细胞。雄性似乎能够辨别雌性的年龄，并且更有可能与年龄大于 5 天的雌性交配，而不是与年轻的雌性交配。雄性也能够检测到先前的交配，并试图与处女交配的次数多于最近受精的雌性。这些结果表明，L. hesperus 交配行为的变化与生殖状态有关，尽管配子产生和交配意愿之间存在滞后。研究结果还表明，雌雄之间的相互作用是通过化学物质介导的。
